Dust collector head



Nov. 11, 1958 I R. E. BROCHETT] 2,859,940

DUST COLLECTOR HEAD Filed March 12. 1956 INVENTOR.

' flgyn p 1 Beau/777 United States Patent 2,859,940 DUST COLLECTOR HEADRaymond E. Brochetti, Churchill Pa., assignor to Mine Safety AppliancesCompany, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationMarch 12, .1956, Serial No. 571,087

4 Claims. .(Cl. 255-50) This invention relates to dust collectingv fordrilling operations, and more particularly is concerned with the dustcollecting heads that the drills extend through.

In my patent application Serial Number 437,945; Ifiled June 21, 1954,there is disclosed a novel dust collecting head through which dust andlarger particles are delivered to a suction hose that carries them awayto a collector, thereby maintaining the atmosphere around a drillingoperation safe and clean. The collecting head also breaks up the largerparticles to a size for removal by the dust collecting unit. Drilling isconducted through the head, and the drill may be inserted or removedwithout removing the head from its dust collecting position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dustcollecting head for use in drilling operations, in which the part of thehead that is connected to a suction hose can be swiveled relative to therest of the head that is rigidly supported. It is a further object toprovide a dust collector swivel head that is easily assembled andinexpensively manufactured.

In accordance with the present invention the dust col- 7 lecting headcomprises a bracket, a sleeve rotatably mounted in the bracket andprovided with an opening in its side, and means for coupling the sleeveopening with a suction line. The sleeve is adapted to loosely receive adrill stem. In a preferred embodiment, the bracket is provided with anopening in its side extending far enough around the bracket to allow thecoupling means and sleeve to turn in the bracket within predeterminedlimits while connected with a suction line.

The invention will be described further in conjunction with the appendeddrawing, in which:

Figure l is a view of the collecting head in elevation, with partsbroken away, in operativeposition;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line II-II of Figure 1,with parts broken away;

Figure 3 is an expanded view of two parts of the head, with one shown incentral vertical section; and

Figure 4 is a partially expanded view, showing two parts of the headassembled and in central vertical section.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral represents a surface, generally ahorizontal surface such as the roof of a mine, being drilled by means ofa drill 12 on a shaft or stem 14 which extends downwardly to a drillingmachine (not shown). Encircling the upper part of the drill stem is adust collecting head, which includes a bracket 18 supported by a jack orother support 20 that is well known in this art and that holds thebracket firmly in place. Suitable means, such as screws 21, are providedto connect the jack and bracket. The bracket 18 advantageously comprisesa pair of axially spaced horizontal retaining rings 22 and 24 (referespecially to Figure 3), with a block 25 at one side of the ringsrigidly connecting them and holding them parallel. The block is providedwith threaded openings for receiving screws 21. The upper retaining ringis provided with a peripheral groove 26 that receives the lower end of aresilient boot 27, the top of which engagesthe mine roof several inchesaway from the drill stem .to forma seal. Being flexible and resilient,the bootprovidesia fairly air-tight connection between the surface 10being drilled andfthe. dust collecting head and serves to vchanneldustandrock particles to the head rather .than.permittingi them-rto escapeto the surrounding atmosphere.- 7

Co-axiallydis'posed within the bracket -.18 is la sleeve 1 30v whichextends 'through bothretaining ringsz'rand is jou'r-f naled therein. The:insideiof. thelsleeve' is large enough to-fit loosely about-the drillstem andnto' permitzthe drill to. pass :throughithe sleeve.-application, the annular. space '311between; the. sleevevan'd the.-.drillstem permits thrdrillingzdust. to fall; down into the .sleeve,where? it 'williebie arrested andzdrawnxou'txof the side ofthe:icolle'ctorrzheadsinxa rmanner taboutito' rbe described, by acurrent :oflairienteringihe lower end of space 31. Y

Encirclingzsleeve 30 between.zretainingtrings n gand124; which itengages, is a rotatable coupling ring 32. The sleeve is held in bracket18 by means of this coupling ring, because a set screw 33 threaded in aradial opening 34 in the ring projects into a registering opening 35 inthe sleeve. The sleeve, in turn, holds the coupling ring in place. Theset screw can easily be installed or re moved by simply turning thesleeve and coupling ring until opening 34 is exposed between theretaining rings.

In order to draw air and dust through the collector head, the sleeve andcoupling ring are also provided with a pair of registering radial slots,37 and 38 respectively, preferably diametrically opposite the openingscontaining set screw 33. Connected with ring slot 38 is the inlet end ofa rigid suction conduit 39, the outer end of which is adapted to beconnected to a suction hose in the usual manner. The outer end of thisconduit may be circular, but its inner end is flattened so that it canbe joined to the coupling ring around its slot 38.

To assemble the dust collecting head for operation, the coupling ring 32is placed beside the gap between the bracket rings as shown in Fig. 3,and then is slipped between those rings to the position shown in Fig. 4.The sleeve 30 is then inserted in the assembled coupling ring andbracket, and then radial openings 34 and 35 are aligned, as by sighting.With the sleeve and coupling 1 ring turned so that those openings are atone side of block 25, set screw 33 is inserted and screwed into place.The combined coupling ring and sleeve then can be rotated from side toside, but they cannot come out of the bracket. The collector head thenis fastened to its support and placed where drilling is to be started.After connecting a suction hose to conduit 39, the drill is passed upthrough the head and drilling is begun.

From the foregoing it can be observed that my improved dust collectinghead is characterized by the ability of the suction nozzle to beswiveled or rotated so that greater freedom of action is available indrilling operations. The simplicity of the elements employed and of thedisposition of these elements contribute to ease of construction andassembly in addition to providing trouble free operation in use.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

1. A dust collector swivel head comprising a bracket adapted to beconnected to a support and provided in its side with an opening, asleeve rotatably disposed in the bracket and adapted to loosely receivea drill stem, and

Patented Nov.-'11,..1958- As described in. my -.;earlier a ring securedaround thesleeve and rotatably mounted in the bracket for holding thesleeve therein, the' sleeve and ring being provided with registeringradial openings beside said bracket opening for connection to a suctionline, and said bracket opening extending far enough around: the bracketto allow said ring and sleeve to turn in .the bracket withinpredetermined limits while connected with a suction line.

2. A dust collector swivel head comprising a pair of axially spacedretaining rings, means at one side of the rings rigidly connecting themto form a bracket, a sleeve rotatably disposedin the rings and providedin its side with an opening between the rings, the sleeve being adaptedto loosely receive a drill stem, a rotatable coupling ring encirclingthe sleeve between the retaining rings, .and means detachably fasteningthe coupling ring tothe sleeve to hold the sleeve in the bracket, thecouplingzringhav'ing a. radial opening through it registering withsaidsleevelopening, and the coupling ring opening being adapted to beconnected to a suction line.

=3; A dust collector swivel head comprising a pair of axially spacedretaining rings, means at one side of the rings rigidly connecting themto form a bracket, a sleeve rotatably disposed in the rings and adaptedto loosely receive a drill stem, a rotatable coupling ring encirclingthe sleeve between the retaining rings, means detachably fastening thecoupling ring to the sleeve to hold the sleeve in the bracket, thecoupling ring and sleeve being provided with registering radial openingsbetween the reraining rings, and a conduit connected to the couplingring opening and extending away from it between the retaining rings,said conduit being swingable back and forth between the retaining rings.

4. A dust collector swivel head comprising a stationary bracket adaptedto be connected to a support, a sleeve rotatably disposed axially in thebracket and adapted to loosely receive a drill stem, and a ringdetachably secured around the sleeve and supported by the bracket, saidsleeve and ring being provided with registering radial openings forconnection to a suction line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

